i68 
Koctis  Lymph  and  its  Dilutions.  { 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1891. 
opium  to  combine  with  all  of  the  alkaloids  present  save  narcotine  ; 
for  the  5-8927  grams  of  morphine,  narceine,  codeine,  etc.,  found, 
require  only  1-0133  grams  of  sulphuric  acid  to  form  the  salts 
(C17H19NOs)2  H2S04,  etc.,  whereas  there  were  found  in  all  1-3945 
grams  of  sulphuric  acid  ;  and 
(IV)  That  hence,  morphine,  narceine,  codeine,  etc.,  are  contained 
in  opium  combined  with  sulphuric  acid  as  sulphates,  while  narcotine, 
at  best  only  a  feeble  base,  is  combined  in  part,  at  least,  with  meconic 
acid,  of  which  there  is  also  some  present  uncombined  in  the  drug. 
In  conclusion,  I  should  like  to  take  this  occasion  to  thank  Prof. 
Fliickiger  for  the  kind  assistance  and  advice  I  obtained  from  him 
while  working  in  his  laboratory,  and  also  Mr.  J.  E.  Gerock,  his 
excellent  and  kind  assistant. 
Laboratory  of  Professor  Fluckiger, 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  March  17. 
There  is  probably  no  remedy  of  modern  times  which  has  excited 
such  widespread  interest  in  medical  circles  and  amongst  the  laity 
as  the  lymph  or  liquid  introduced  by  Dr.  Robert  Koch,  of  Berlin, 
for  the  treatment  of  tuberculous  conditions.  The  reasons  for  this 
interest  are  plain,  in  view  of  the  difficulty  of  treatment,  general 
fatality  and  wide  distribution  of  the  disease,  and  any  remedy  which 
promises  relief  is  destined  to  receive  a  welcome  royal.  Indeed, 
such  is  the  demand  for  a  cure  that,  with  the  advent  of  a  new  remedy, 
the  wish  being  father  to  the  thought,  greater  properties  are  often 
claimed  for  the  agent  than  by  the  discoverer  himself.  This  is  notably 
true  of  Dr.  Koch's  lymph. 
The  lymph  has  been  used  but  limitedly  in  this  country,  for  the 
reason  that  it  has  been  very  difficult  to  procure,  and,  if  procured, 
it  has  been  in  limited  quantities  only.  In  Europe  its  use  has  been 
quite  extensive,  more  especially  in  Germany.  As  to  its  exact 
therapeutical  value,  medical  opinion  is  somewhat  divided.  It 
is  generally  admitted,  however,  that  its  introduction  will  open  up 
a  new  world  of  therapeutical  possibilities,  in  directing  general 
University  of  Strassburg, 
February  17,  1 891. 
KOCH'S  LYMPH  AND  ITS  DILUTIONS. 
By  Joseph  W.  England,  Ph.G. 
